Club Notes: 25th February 2019

L.M: Just a few amendments to last week’s piece. I was a bit harsh on the football clubs in Tyrone. Many were indeed helpful and allowed us use of their facilities.(I’m going north soon) Going back to the Mount Sion game (around 2011 according to you) I have to say Mick Mangan was fully behind starting Paul O once he became aware of the character of the player he was dealing with. One last thing! Get your dates right. My modelling career finished in the 80’s. Now drive on.

PRO: Has the age profile of the club has changed since you returned from Tyrone?

L.M. : Not a huge amount to be honest; maybe slightly younger now. We probably have a better gender balance alright which is a big plus but we still need to work on this.

PRO: The JP McManus donation to all clubs country wide came to great satisfaction to all. With the opening of Croke Park to rugby and soccer a few years back, three sold out concerts a year why hasn't the GAA in turn looked to offer such a package as JP to all clubs?

L.M.: J.P. is an exceptional benefactor. . Limerick in particular and the GAA in general has greatly benefitted from his munificence. I wouldn’t entirely agree with the populist view about the GAA and its finances. GAA headquarters has managed the finances of the biggest sporting organisation in Ireland prudently and a lot of money is ploughed back into the game. I don’t have figures to hand but they have been issued; letting people know where the money is spent. The GAA (Headquarters) has bailed out clubs and counties, in financial trouble, that we don’t even know about. Tallow GAA club has benefitted on a number of occasions from grant aid from the Munster Council, to assist development of facilities. Munster Council has also come to the aid of the county.

Clubs don’t need handouts. They can manage the day to day running, thanks to the work of magnificent club volunteers and generous local support,, but need financial grant aid to develop and expand. Clubs in Waterford had to pay a levy for years to reduce the county debt. We’ve had two years free of it but it’s likely to be reintroduced, if this half baked development goes ahead. Now that is crippling clubs!!! They shouldn’t have to bear that burden! We’ve enough to do to manage our own finances.

One thing that really annoys me is the idle ill informed pub talk, usually from people with an anti GAA agenda who make no contribution to the community or any sports organisation. The GAA is not perfect but it is a great organisation! They are aware of the difficulties clubs face but are so far not addressing them.

PRO: You grow up in the early seventies did you realise then that the club was in a golden period on the playing field?

L.M.: You do realise I wasn’t exactly the greatest exponent of the game the club produced? I played a bit of underage in the ‘70s, my greatest claim to fame being part of the u14 squad that won the double in ’71 – and I only made that because I was big and awkward. (Ned found a use for all players). Of that panel, (I better be careful here in case I miss someone) Kieran Ryan, Pat Daly, Stephen Curley, Pigeon, Connie and Micky Curley, Timmy.Sheehan all played at inter county level. It was the same at every age level. The u21s of ‘76 had 8 or 9. We were Tallow. We expected to win. Not alone had Ned Power honed the skills; he honed the minds. They talk about sports psychology now like it’s something new in the last decade in Ireland.. Ned was at it back in the late 60s. You asked were the players aware that the club was going through a golden period. I’m not sure they were. They were that conditioned to winning they thought it was normal. It was the perfect storm! The master coach had quality material.

PRO:The club is in its second coming (reformed in 1919) , how much did we lose in information by not logging our history?

l.M: A lot to be honest. Even the very premise of your question can be disputed. Tallow is listed in Michael Cusack’s Celtic Times ( a Gaelic games newspaper published in 1887) as one of 12 clubs participating in football competition that year in Waterford. This is a valid historical document – the facts are indisputable. . We have no proof, only hearsay, regarding the duration of that original founding club. We do these men and women involved in 1887 a disservice by not acknowledging that point as the foundation of Tallow GAA club. Leading up to Centenary year the GAA encouraged (I think they even provided grants) clubs to record their history. We missed out big time. Men like Harry Ronayne had a wealth of knowledge. A lot of that is lost with their passing which would now make the compilation of a club history much more difficult.

P.R.O. I stated in my notes that I felt that the GAA hierarchy seems lost to the volunteers that they serve. Would you feel that there is such a big void?

L.M. The GAA has become such a big conglomerate that in some ways that is inevitable. The club fixture calendar or lack thereof, is crucial. I don’t think the will to seriously tackle it is there. We live in hope.

PRO: The under twenty grade is gone now at club level to u19. How will such a move work with teenagers doing straight to adult level?

L.M. Here is a typical example of the Brussels syndrome in action. They should have left well enough alone.

PRO. Would you see the benefits and non benefits of the digital age ( social media, youtube, whats app etc...) in the running of a GAA club?

L.M. I’m not a tech head like you Fada (can just manage the aul whattsapp) but overall the digital age has brought huge advantages in terms of communication and information. It can be abused of course by bullies and I would favour more stringent controls.

PRO:We introduced a club crest to the club around 2002 or 2001 , would you have knowledge on it's design?

L.M. The club crest features the Bride and Lisfinney castle encircled by a Celtic T. I was involved to an extent. It was the initiative of Tallow GAA Juvenile Club. We asked Billy Sheehan to task the pupils of Scoil Mhuire to come up with a design. If memory serves me correctly I think it was Deirdre Moroney who came up with a design (which may have been inspired by a similar emblem on a historical pamphlet written by Mrs Pat Cantillon) very close to what we have today. I know you had misgivings about the castle at the time but it was built by the Earls of Desmond and was occupied by Japer Pyne MP in mid 1800s. Pyne was an ardent advocate for the rights of tenant farmers. Interesting character! Maybe if you have a slack week you could write about him.

P.R.O. To my recollection the club's first official trip was to London in 1979. You were involved in subsequent trips to the North (mid to late nineties, US (2002) and Barcelona (2007) how do you recall such ventures and future voyages?

L.M

. I’ve great memories of all trips. I made the last London trip and I think Finn and myself were the only ones to make all tours; several to the north, New York, Boston, Mannheim, Barcelona, Budapest, etc. We were blessed with a great crew. We never had a bit of bother from the lads (the young ones at least). Plenty of GAA clubs around Europe now! The key is you must play a hurling match. I don’t care what standard but it gives a focus to the whole trip. I know Ter has mentioned the possibility of a trip but we can’t leave everything to that

man. He has enough on his plate. Maybe one of the young guns would take it on and give Geary and myself a break.

Anyway, best of luck with the PRO job. To quote Johnny Geary you are following a long line of cracked PROs!! Think you’ll fit the bill ok.

Lotto Winner.

Ronan Cronin (centre) presented with his lottery winning cheque from his fellow New Street native Lotto Coordinator John O'Sullivan. To Ronan's right is John's fellow Monday night man Dennis Tobin. Ronan's daughter Kayla is in the front of the picture.